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0:01 Welcome to the Daily Blade. 0:03 The word of God is described as the sword of the spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christians' armor against the forces of evil. 0:11 Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. 0:17 Let's sharpen up.
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0:20 There's a common theme that runs through much of our culture today. 0:23 It's that the atheists and pagans that dominate our society love to tell Christians where and how they are allowed to operate. 0:30 So they at least pretend to be okay with God and specifically with Christianity until it infringes on one of the many areas that they wish to dominate without any interference. 0:40 Nowhere is that more apparent than in the sphere of politics. 0:44 So if you're listening to this on time, we are in the thick of another hotly contested political general election season. 0:50 Many people's anxieties and comforts will rise or fall based on the polling data that they also simultaneously claim they can't trust. 0:57 Go figure. 0:58 And even though there are a lot of pundits that like to weigh in on what they think will happen or should happen, here's one thing that is undeniably true. 1:06 If Christians voted at a high percentage, which unfortunately they don't, they would essentially be able to swing every single election in this country. 1:16 The result would be a United States of America that is almost unrecognizable compared to what we currently see. 1:21 So it should be no surprise to anyone listening to this that one of the main things that our atheistic and pagan culture wants us to do is to not vote. 1:31 They want to convince Christians that they should have no influence in the political system whatsoever. 1:37 Because obviously, the less Christians are involved and less they vote in a biblical and moral way, the more power the pagans will have. 1:44 But this week on the Daily Blade, we are going to be focusing on why it is not only possible for Christians to participate in the political system, but why it is required that Christians participate in our political system. 1:56 And the best place to start our discussion is with the Shema. 1:59 So let's go to the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 6, starting in verse 4. 2:03 Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 2:06 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 2:11 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 2:16 And just in case any of you think it's a good idea to unhitch from the Old Testament and leave it behind, then we need to point it to Mark twelve, where it shows us that Jesus actually upheld this exact same sentiment. 2:27 So let's go to verse 28. 2:29 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, Which commandment is the most important of all? 2:38 Jesus answered, The most important is hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 2:43 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. 2:48 But guys, you know, key in here. 2:49 Do not miss this next part. 2:50 Jesus is affirming what we see in the old covenant. 2:53 He links his exact words at the moment, at that very moment, to the Shema, but then he expands it greatly and gives us our marching orders and modernity. 3:02 Okay? 3:03 Verse 31. 3:04 The second is this you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 3:09 There was no other commandment greater than these. 3:12 So what do we see in these two passages? 3:15 We should love God, we should love him with all of our heart, we should love him with all of our soul, we should love him with all of our mind, we should love him with all of our strength, we should love our neighbors, and we should love ourselves. 3:24 These are all interrelated. 3:26 It is all a part of a well-balanced devotion to God and his creation. 3:30 So how does this relate to politics? 3:32 Well, I'll answer that question with a question of my own. 3:35 How is it possible to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, love your neighbor and love yourself and not participate in the sphere of politics? 3:46 I want you to really think about that. 3:48 Let me repeat it. 3:49 How is it possible to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, love your neighbor and love yourself and not participate in the sphere of politics? 3:57 The answer? 3:59 It's only possible if you abdicate your responsibility as an image bearer. 4:03 Because we as image bearers are to uphold biblical morality and justice. 4:08 Ergo, we must vote and advocate for moral and just policies because the downstream consequences of those moral and just or immoral and unjust policies has a direct impact on the ability for humans to flourish. 4:22 The Shema must be a core internal component of a devoted Christian life. 4:27 An outworking of that internalized devotion is our political participation. 4:32 God gives us commands. 4:33 Those commands are anchored in love. 4:35 As image bearers, we are called to love God. 4:38 And from that love will flow obedience to God's commands. 4:42 Our political choices flow out of the same love because a core Christian concern is the flourishing of humanity. 4:50 So all week this week, I'm going to be hammering this. 4:53 This is the summary of what we're talking about. 4:55 This is my thesis. 4:56 It is incumbent upon Christians to vote and participate in the political sphere because faithful stewardship of God's creation is an act of worship, and the Dominion mandate does not end at the ballot box.